Midtown East rezoning proposal Is halted

November 19, 2013 9:32 AM

On Wednesday November 12th, 2013 the proposal to rezone Midtown East was halted, when it became clear that the New York City Council was going to reject the proposal as it was currently designed. Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and other elected officials said the plan will be revisited next year, when changes are sure to be made.

“I applaud the City Council for pressing the pause button,” de Blasio said. “For the sake of Manhattan’s long term economic vitality, Midtown East should be rezoned to allow the creation of a world-class 21st century commercial district. But it needs to be done right.”

The rezoning of Midtown East, which will be revisited in years to come, will continue to be a crucial issue to the Union because there are already 29 hotels in Midtown East and, with almost 7,500 workers employed in them, they make up a full 17 percent of the New York City hotel industry’s employees. The majority of these hotels are large, full-service hotels with meeting and event space, and almost all are unionized.

To read the full version of this story as it appeared in the Hotel Voice newspaper click the link below:

http://hotelworkers.org/article/midtown-east-rezoning-proposal-is-halted